FC Barcelona are still not fully satisfied with the summer transfer window that they have had. Some opportunities still exist in the market and the Catalan club wants to make sure they take advantage of them. To do that, however, Barcelona has also had to make some frustrating sacrifices so far.
The likes of Ilkay Gundogan have already been sent back to Manchester City, while other players such as Mikayil Faye, Clement Lenglet, and even Vitor Roque are being sent to different destinations. Ultimately, the purpose remains for Barcelona to ease up their wage bill and salary budget to accommodate other players.
Yet, with Clement Lenglet already departing and Andreas Christensen now joining the likes of Ronald Araujo on the sideline, the active defensive options in the team are quite strained in terms of numbers. For Hansi Flick, it is perhaps only Pau Cubarsi and Inigo Martinez that he can rely on to start games for Barcelona.
However, according to Mundo Deportivo, even a departure for Inigo Martinez is not fully off the table just yet. The 33-year-old Spanish defender, formerly of Athletic Club, has reportedly attracted the interest of Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad and they could push for a late summer transfer for him.
As per reports over in France, it seems that the team from the Middle East wants to have more defensive options in their team. While their primary target would reportedly be Danilo Pereira from Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain, they are also keeping an eye on the veteran Barcelona defender just in case.
However, as MD points out, there are no active plans from Barça to sell Martinez at the moment. He is considered an important player for the team both on and off the pitch. Moreover, at this exact moment in time, he is one of the only elite-level available defenders at Hansi Flick’s disposal.
Yet, if strong interest and a good proposal from Al-Ittihad is received, Barcelona could consider the move given that Inigo Martinez originally arrived as a free agent and anything earned from his sale would be a complete profit.
